Concealed Beneath the Skin
by Let-it-lie-archived
Summary: A conversation between Japan and Moscow on the subject of the relative significance of Duty and Satisfaction leads to an unusual challenge for the nations. As the illusions are destroyed, the nations may realise that their perception of one another is entirely different to the truth. Much lighter than the rating and genres suggest.


**This fic was written as a gift for SymphonicRedWolf from my RP forum; you're an amazing person, Red. The idea for this fic also came from her, and her oc Moscow plays a small, if not important, role in this story. Another thing you need to know is that the pairing EstLiet had a breakup before this fic began; based on their breakup on Hetalia-baltics' Tumblr account. There are many other minor pairings in this fic, some of whom I wouldn't usually write for. I apologise for the length, but I felt that this had to be published as a oneshot; it's a bit of a rollercoaster ride to the finish, so I hope that you enjoy.**

**Warnings: Graphic violence, lemon (but no smut), minor swearing (barely), sexual harassment, etc. **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Hetalia, the nations would have ganged up to kill me by now.**

* * *

"That is true, however things have changed a lot recently in world relations; I am not as sure as I once was of doing the right thing."

Japan turned slightly to look at the Russian girl walking beside him, attentive to her response. The visit had started out as a tense one; she had been sent instead of Russia to negotiate relations, possibly because he thought she could get a better deal, however they had grow more relaxed as they spent more time in each other's company. He looked at her again; at the way the sunlight shone on her face, and the way the silvery white colour of her hair matched the blossom on the tree beside them, thinking for a minute how pleasant it would be to draw her. He offered his hand to help her across the bridge which they were approaching.

"Then perhaps you'll just have to wing it? Work for yourself rather than others for a change, since they have given you no other option but to choose between them?"

Moscow looked back at him, her eyes interested but not intrusive. Calmly she slipped her hand in his and walked across the bridge, taking the moment to look down and admire the rushing jade tinted stream which it went over. She had already generously praised the beauty of the garden, to the immense pleasure of Japan; he was not expecting any more comments on the surroundings.

"I do not think that I can do that, although I am grateful for your advice. Duty will always come before satisfaction for me, however I hope that it will not come to having to choose between the ones close to me."

As they walked away from the stream, Moscow gave a short gasp of delight at the view that followed; seconds later, she covered her mouth with her hands, determined to keep her pride.

"The mountains are beautiful here, Japan. And..."

Briefly she laughed; a short, gentle laugh that reminded him of her sender.

"Being satisfied is important too, da? And I hope it doesn't come to war or teaming up…"

He was momentarily thankful that she didn't say 'da' every five seconds; other than the slightly alarming Russian quirks, she was quite a pleasant person to be around.

"I am grateful to you for appreciating my home; would you like to sit down? There is a bench at the top of that hill. If it were to come to war, I would prefer to fight personally rather than in an alliance. That way no-one would be offended. Satisfaction is important too, but duty still comes before satisfaction."

In answer to his first question, he received a simple nod; he followed her slow pace up the hill towards the russet coloured Japanese maple growing on the top. It was one of his favourite places; the view of the mountains from the hill, and of the gardens behind it. She was one of the few who had seen it; he had brought Greece here, and England, but for some reason, never America. He had never been sure that America would properly appreciate it; it was wrong of him, but something that he couldn't bring himself to change.

" Ah, someone will always get offended one way or another, I think. Even if you try not to offend. Always so duty-bound, Japan? Wouldn't you like to put satisfaction first for once?"

They reached the top of the hill; she sat, and he leant against the base of the tree, brow creased in thought.

"That is true. I try hard not to offend people, but it sometimes occurs despite everything. If I did such a thing, it would be at the misfortune of others."

She motioned for him to sit down, but he refused, preferring safe distance to potential invasive physical contact. The tree was cooling against his back through his clothes, and the view was better from standing.

"And sometimes people just need a good wake-up call, da? It's not always best to tap-dance around how you're feeling for the sake of another. Why do you say that?"

"I am sorry for offending you by not sitting down; I would not like to invade your personal space. I do not know; I would rather that people thought me a good person than a terrible one. I put myself first in many situations; I would work for the good of my people before the good of other nations."

Moscow blinked slightly, shifting on the bench, her hands reaching up to touch one of the red leaves of the tree.

"Sit down if you want; I've made room for you. In the end, I'd rather make sure I was happy than make sure that others thought I was a good person. Nobody really goes out of their way for others, so we should make sure we look out for ourselves, da? And you are not your people."

Carefully, Japan sat down beside her, leaving a two metre gap between them.

"I am happy; if others thought badly of me, I'd feel very unhappy. I would also no longer be happy if my people were unhappy."

Moscow studied him for a minute; her deep indigo eyes found his dark brown ones. She replied carefully.

"But there is more to life, Japan, than trying not to offend people. In fact, I challenge you, for a day, to do exactly as you like without a thought for any others. Will you take up the challenge?"

It was perhaps the most surprising thing that had been said that day. Japan blinked, his mind moving quicker than it had in half a century.

"I have never been one to refuse a challenge, however if I were to accept, I would like to warn everyone of my actions beforehand."

For the first time Moscow smiled; a broad smile that lit up her face the way that the sun had earlier in the day.

"Very well; I will inform the nations at the next world meeting."

Japan gave the expected nod, wondering inwardly how things had moved quite so quickly.

* * *

Japan remembered that day with a large degree of regret as he sat in the silenced world meeting. It had happened. Moscow had said her piece; she was standing alone in the room, all eyes on her.

"So, _this_ is why you made me bring you? To inform us that Japan is going to… attack us all? Why was I not informed of this earlier, Lena?"

The speaker was Russia; the nation was incensed by the fact that his capital would keep things from him. Japan turned his face away, embarrassed, knowing that across the room Moscow would be doing the same.

"This is a personal thing for Japan, and too hard for him to say out loud himself; if it were not for me, he would not have taken up this challenge, therefore it had to be me who made this statement, and in this situation."

For a moment, it appeared that Russia would reply, and the meeting would be absorbed by an argument between the two of them. Fortunately, perhaps, they were interrupted by the loud and frequently disruptive voice of America.

"Hey, wait a moment! If Japan's doing what he wants for a day, I want in too. I'll do it as well."

A small mutter spread between the nations as they began to discuss the situation. Again, the group was disturbed by another speaker.

"Don't be foolish, you idiot. If we all do as we please, it will be complete anarchy."

"I agree with America."

Surprisingly, the last comment was made by France, who was rewarded with the eyes of everyone upon him.

"I think that it would be interesting to see how things would turn out. Besides, we might discover some things that we wouldn't regret discovering."

The next to speak was China; he stood up slowly, commanding the attention of everyone in the room.

"I agree with England. We are adults, and must behave so. I cannot believe that Japan has agreed to this."

Japan remained silent, despite the rebuke from his ex-brother. They had much cause to fight, but he thought it wise to avoid confrontation.

"Ah, I think that I will make use of this opportunity, since it has been offered."

Everyone turned in alarm as Russia spoke; in particular, the Baltic trio all shuddered slightly, but Lithuania stood up to speak.

"I will also take this opportunity."

"In that case, I will do as Lithuania does; especially since he will need all the help he can get in trying to work for himself alone."

Lithuania turned sharply to look at the speaker, all thought of Russia gone.

"…Estonia?"

"Leedu…"

Estonia trailed off, realising that the world meeting was not a good place to discuss their personal problems. The eyes of the world moved from the two nations to the nation sitting between them. Latvia looked around shyly before he spoke.

"I will accept this challenge too. What about Liechtenstein?"

Liechtenstein opened her mouth to speak, but shut it again as her brother voiced his opinions instead.

"Liechtenstein and I will be maintaining neutrality in this matter."

"Is that what she wants?"

It was England who questioned this.

"I want whatever big brother wants."

"As do I. I will also be taking up this challenge."

Russia turned in fear to look at his sister, knowing very well what she wanted most. Ukraine nodded as well, signifying agreement with Belarus. Everyone's eyes turned back to the western nations; Spain was the next to speak.

"I agree with Russia; I will make use of this opportunity."

"No! I will not have you going off and getting yourself killed invading the world. As for my brother, he wants to do this just so that he can eat pasta and flirt with women all day."

Italy Veneziano beamed around at the room in response to Romano's remark; it was plain that he agreed with it entirely.

"Very well, I suppose that there could be some benefits."

"You will be able to make the awesome me a nation again."

The German brothers spoke almost as one, although their points were very different.

"I will support you. I will take part in this as well."

It was Canada who spoke, but no-one heard him. Seeing that this had happened, Cuba stood.

"Canada and I are willing to accept this challenge."

"My brother? Cool… I'm assuming that most of us want to do this along with Japan now? In that case, I'd like to ask, are there any people who really don't want to do this? People who value others above themselves?"

There was silence in the room, before slowly Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Moscow, England, China, Romano and Austria stood up. England spoke for them.

"We will monitor this… anarchy… to make sure that no-one dies. When it is over, we will meet here."

"Erm, England, one more question. When are we going to do this?"

Moscow answered, her quiet voice echoing around the room.

"Next week on Tuesday. Japan and I decided that between us."

A murmur of agreement passed between the nations; Japan suddenly felt the need to apologise for getting them into the situation, but decided not to on the grounds that most of the attention was being drawn away from him, and he wanted to keep it that way. With some bewilderment, he began anticipating the coming Tuesday.

As the nations packed away their things, England could be caught muttering to Switzerland,

"Nations doing exactly as they please? It'll be a complete disaster; it'll be World War Three."

* * *

Stretching, Japan rubbed the dust from his eyes, thinking of the pleasant dream which he had been having. It had been about cats, and he was sure that at some point Greece had shown up. With a glance, he registered the date, and immediately hid under the duvet again. If it hadn't been for Moscow showing up at his house, everything would turn out so much less complicated. His surrender was quickly usurped by the loud sound of America's voice filling the room from the strange device positioned by his bed.

All of the nations had communication devices by their beds which meant that they could send urgent messages to each other early in the morning if needed. At this moment, America's voice was being broadcast to the entire community of nations. Japan gave a sigh and shifted up in his bed to listen to the message.

"Good morning, my fellow nations! This is just a reminder that today is the day where you can do exactly as you please; no follow up consequences, with the exception of England, China, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria and Romano. How stupid of them. Anyway, enjoy your day, and don't forget the rules; there are none. I will be about somewhere being an awesome hero and saving the world, so see you around later."

Finally the message turned off; Japan brought his hands to his head, as America's loud voice often gave him headaches. As he did so, a revelation came to him. He no longer had to put up with it. He could tell America to shut up, because America no longer mattered. Quick as a flash, he picked up the device and pressed call, speaking for all of the nations to hear.

"America-san, I do not appreciate you waking me up in the morning with your loud voice. It gives me headaches and I would really rather that you shut up."

Immediately a feeling of guilt and regret came to him, but he pushed it aside, determined to go through with the challenge. Within minutes the reply came back.

"Well Japan, that was kind of offensive, but never mind! Taken into account, and I'm glad that you're taking this challenge seriously. Everyone, don't forget to follow his example…"

Finally having enough, Japan flung the device to the floor and got out of bed, walking across the room and dressing. Once he was dressed, he decided that there were three phone calls that he needed to make before breakfast.

Carefully, Japan removed the phone from the receiver and dialled his boss' number. The phone rang; Japan waited. When it went onto answer phone, he assumed his boss to be busy and left a message explaining that, due to irreversible circumstances, he would not be able to work today. The message left, he made his second call; a call to England. Again, the phone rang through to answer phone, so he left another message.

"Konichiwa England-san, this is Japan. I would like to meet up with you at some point in the future, and spend more time with you the way we used to in the past. That is all, Japan."

The final call which he made was the one which he had been dreading the most. Dialling the number, he patiently put the phone to his ear to wait for the response of his ex-brother and constant opponent; China.

"Nihao, China speaking."

Japan automatically pulled the phone away from his ear in alarm; he had expected to have to leave a message like with the other recipients. Preparing himself inwardly for the argument that he would follow, he quickly said his piece.

"China, this is Japan. I will say this once, and only once; those islands belong to me, and you will hand them over to me, or there will be dire consequences for you and your people."

On the other side of the line, China immediately bristled at the proud attack.

"I will never hand them over to you, or make peace over this fight; I have as much claim to them as you. Also, _aru,_ I know that you are only saying this because of the date; the chances of you actually declaring war on me are very low. You swore never again to take up arms, and you must keep to your word."

Japan too was becoming angry; his response was equally authorative.

"For all that you say today is today, when my armies attack and ravage your land, you will be singing quite a different tune. All that I do will be forgiven tomorrow, so I can easily secure my land from you. Furthermore, I order you to stop acting like my brother."

"Very well, war it is. Do not forget that I have powerful allies, whereas you have none. I am still your brother, in case you were wondering. Also, anything you take will be forgotten tomorrow, as you will not remember anything."

Bewildered by the last statement, Japan replied.

"I will attack straight away, so be prepared. Your ally is Russia, I presume. Today he will be completely absorbed in himself, so that will not help you. What exactly do you mean by the last statement?"

China gave a private smile to himself.

"I am prepared. I do not need Russia to fight. You must wait to see what I mean."

Japan pulled the phone away from his ear in order to think straight; he pulled it back again when he had made his mind up.

"I cannot fight with you now, but I am at war with you from twelve o'clock onwards. I do not wish to invade you; simply to reclaim what is rightfully mine."

"Very well; midday it is."

* * *

The communication device switched itself off; America sat there watching it and feeling miserable. He hadn't known that the sound of his voice gave Japan headaches in the morning; he had been upsetting his friend all of that time without knowing it. Who else was he upsetting? How could he stop? Hopefully his relationship with Japan was strong enough that it wouldn't be ruined.

As he was slowly recovering his mood, his mobile began to ring. Picking it up, he saw that the caller was Lithuania.

"Hey Lithuania, this is the Hero! How can I help you?"

A nervous voice came through the line to him, and he wondered whether or not Lithuania had drank his morning coffee yet.

"Erm, Mr America, I was wondering, since you're being 'the Hero' and protecting everyone today, could you possible come and protect us from Mr Russia, in case he tries to start something?"

America smiled his 'classic hero's smile', acting for the camera despite the fact that he had no audience and his only listener was on the other side of the Atlantic ocean.

"Of course; I will fly over as soon as possible. Anything for hero credit… in fact, I'll call up Russia now and tell him personally to leave the three of you alone."

America thought that he could hear a sigh of relief through the phone; were the Baltics really so weak that they couldn't even try to defend themselves?

"Thank you very much, Mr America, and I look forward to seeing you again. Goodbye."

All thought of Japan was out of the young nation's head at the thought of war and heroism; with a goodbye and a flourish, he put the phone down, going to eat breakfast quickly before making what was to be his second last phone call of the day.

Lithuania's fears were perhaps within reason; at that moment, Russia had only two intentions in mind. The first was to avoid Belarus at all cost; the second to persuade the Baltics and several other nations to become one with him once more. He too was up and dressed, relying on the fact that Belarus wouldn't be able to arrive within an hour, although the nations had many strange ways of getting to places quickly. Finally deciding to make a move, he stood up from his chair and walked over to the door, only to be pulled back by the phone which rung loudly through the room. Picking it up in irritation and vowing to smash it on the floor once he was done, he spoke into it.

"Privyet, Russia speaking."

"Erm, hey Russia, this is America. I just wanted to request that you don't bother the Baltics today, if that's alright with you."

Barely a pause.

"But we can do whatever we like today, da? No-one else is important. That is what you told us, nyet? Anyway, I'm not going to bother them, I'm just going to talk to them, and… ehm… persuade them to join me."

The response that he got back was the most emotional that he had ever received from the nation he was speaking to.

""Oh my God Russia, that is not cool! Why do you have to be such a dickhead? Why can't you just leave the Baltics alone and live in peace with them? I know that you can do what you like today, but that's no excuse. I thought that you were nice; we were starting to become close, but you have to make it hard for me…"

Russia simply stood there, letting the waves of anger wash over him.

"Then why did you agree to such a day if you do not support everyone partaking in it?"

"Because for most people, what they want is fine. And… oh, there's Canada; saved by my brother. Sorry Russia, back later…

Mattie, what are you doing here? I was just taking to Russia… he's scary, isn't he. Hey wait, why are you staring at me like that? Oh my gosh, you've got a knife! Wait, Mattie, stop, no, argh!..."

"I'm afraid, America, that not many nations' desires are good. Take for example your brother, who is probably right this minute attacking you. I wish you luck, and hope that you will remember what I said."

Having said those final words, Russia put the phone down; he had revised his previous decision to smash it against the wall. Putting on his 'antique' coat, he walked out of the door; within thirty more seconds he was out of sight.

* * *

The house in which Russia dwelt remained silent for approximately fifteen minutes after his departure; until the moment when the tall and intimidating feminine form of Belarus arrived on the doorstep. Unfortunately, no-one was there to witness it, as Russia was gone. No-one saw her knock fifty times on the door, each time waiting patiently for a response; no-one saw the single tear that rolled down her cheek the second that she broke the door down. They didn't see her rage at the empty house, or the hunched-up position she assumed in order to wait for Russia's return.

Her unwashed hair stuck to her face and her eyes blazed, but her body was weakened; the day which was supposed to be making nations satisfied was making some of them the unhappiest they had been in a long time.

The only person who ever came close to truly caring about Belarus was far away, about to encounter the same man whom she was pursuing.

The phone rang once more. Belarus didn't even bother getting up to see who it was; the sound of a voice filled the house when the phone was not picked up.

"Nihao Russia. Japan has decided to attack me for no reason, so can you, _aru,_ come and help me to defend myself?"

Belarus' head jerked to one side, and for a second her eyes seemed to fill with an eerie light. In a sudden movement, she stood, walked over to the phone, and dialled.

"Russia? It's your sister, Ukraine. China called you and asked you to declare war on Japan because he offended you. Should I tell him you will? Oh, that's good. No, I haven't seen Belarus anywhere."

With a flourish, she replaced the phone, before slipping out of the back door.

* * *

It had never occurred to Prussia that he might be given the opportunity to become a nation again. For all of the time that he had been sharing territory and identity with Germany, he had accepted that he was simply lucky to be alive. At the moment that Moscow had stood up and declared her intentions with Japan, it had been as if a light had come on in his brain. Finally, he could reclaim what was rightfully his. There was only one problem; his people. His people were German, and viewed themselves as such. As far as they were concerned, Prussia was a dead nation, and would never exist again.

He had pushed the thoughts aside; told himself that on this day, the people didn't matter. Nothing mattered except himself.

Leaning over Germany's bed, his mind was awash with excitement.

"Bruder? West? Why aren't you awake? This isn't like you; did you drink too much last night?"  
Germany opened his eyes, staring into a pair of red ones.

"No, I am alright. I just… am not looking forward to this day. I am used to duty, not desire. I don't wish to allow myself to have what I want, anyway."

Prussia blinked, surprise in his eyes.

"But West, I will become a nation again! Does that not make you happy for me? I think that you should let yourself go for once. I will come with you, if you like; wherever you go. Even if we go to war, which would be awesome, in my opinion."

Germany pulled himself slowly out of bed; as he sat on the edge, Prussia sat beside him.

"Thank you for your support, Prussia. I'm glad for you; the Germans are very proud of the Prussians."

"Then you won't mind if I steal your citizens?"

Germany stood, choosing to take Prussia's remark seriously.

"There are some things which I am not prepared to sacrifice for your success. You should know that."

Prussia looked at his brother in slight alarm, shifting away from the nation slightly on the bed.

"I'm sure that we shall be able to sort something out, West. How are we going to go about making me a nation again?"

Germany stood, turning to address Prussia properly. The nation also stood, taking several steps backwards, eyes wide.

"Firstly, we must gather together a group of reasonably sized… say, half a million or so… Germans who wish to recreate Prussia. Secondly, we must alert the United nations of our intentions. Thirdly, and finally, we must ask as many nations as possible to recognise you as a nation. I will leave the first duty up to you, while I carry out my own plans for today, but for now I will message each of the nations asking them to recognise you."

"Yeesh, bruder, why must you be so formal? It's kind of intimidating. So, you are going to give up some of your people for me after all? You are almost as awesome as the awesome me! I will go and gather them at once; please don't start World War Three while I'm away."

Prussia stood up, leaving the room in a dazed trance; Germany shouted after him in irritation.

"I'm only giving up those who want to go."

* * *

Austria's hands were moving meticulously across the piano; his body moved perfectly in time to the music. Beside him sat Hungary, waiting patiently for him to finish. Austria had decided not to take part in the day's activities, for various reasons personal to him. He had his phone nearby, however not in vincity of the piano, in case the radio signals damaged it; he was waiting for messages from the other nations not participating.

The peaceful lull was disturbed by the bursting open of the door; the strong figure of Germany appeared on the threshold, and Austria's hands dropped, striking the keys in a musical, if not violent, fashion.

"Germany? Why are you interrupting my playing in this rude manner?"

Even before he had finished speaking, Hungary was at his side; she was followed soon after by Germany. Surrounded by two other nations, Austria seemed almost to shrink in size.

"I have business to discuss with you."

"Well, I have business to discuss with him too, so I think that I should get to go first."

Austria gave a fake sigh, motioning to Germany, the nation who was more powerful and far more likely to attack.

"Hungary, please…"

Hungary became silent at the flick of his hand.

"As you know, today is the day of no regrets, so I would like to request that you surrender your borders and merge with me."

Hungary gasped at Germany's words, but Austria barely blinked.

"It is strange, but I am sure that those are the exact words that Hungary was about to say."

"Well, not exactly…"

"Hungary, please…"

The room fell silent again as the two intruders waited for Austria to continue.

"I take it that this is not optional, as in the case of Hungary. If I do not surrender my borders, you will simply invade me."

Hungary again gasped, but this time Austria did not hush her. She spoke with concern for Austria; her words were directed at Germany.

"You are plainly attempting to start World War Three. You never were truly sorry for the last two wars; not in the way that some believed you were. I beg you, do not do this; do not destroy the world. I know that we are trying to be completely selfish today, but would conquering everyone truly make you happy? I doubt it. All I want is to be re-united with Austria."

Germany glared back at her, fury in his eyes.

"I have no intention of starting World War Three; I simply feel that it is ridiculous how pointless our borders are. However, this is not optional, and I will invade Austria if he does not submit."

Austria gave a roll of his eyes, standing from the piano seat.

"Very well, I will submit to you. Hungary, you will have to make it on your own."

Hungary stared at him for a minute, before turning and slapping Germany hard across the face. When she had stepped away, she turned on her heels, walking out of the room. Her footsteps echoed off of the walls; Austria watched her go, shaking his head with what was either regret or disgust. Germany turned to leave soon after, seeming unperturbed by the physical attack.

"I will return later to assume control over you, but I have other, more important business to attend to first."

Once he was gone, music again filled the room.

* * *

Meanwhile, Japan had landed in Greece. He had taken a relaxing bath, followed by a large breakfast on the plane, so was feeling well enough for a fight, and for other things.

Outside the airport, he was met by Greece.

"Koukla. How was your flight?"

Japan tried to dodge as he was wrapped in a giant hug, but changed his mind halfway through, allowing Greece to embrace him as the nation desired.

"I had a very pleasant flight. How has today been for you so far?"

In answer, Greece just shook his head. Japan looked at him with a foreign expression; concern.

"Koukla, I'm sorry. I did a foolish thing."

They began to walk out of the airport towards Greece's home, Greece somehow managing to keep hold of Japan's hand all the way back.

"I wouldn't be concerned; I declared war on China this morning."

Greece shook his head at Japan's admittance, walking a few steps ahead of his companion in order to hide his face.

"At least what you did was honest. I robbed all of the banks in Switzerland…"

Japan felt shocked inside, although he did well to maintain his facial expression. Somehow, he found himself patting Greece's arm awkwardly.

"I do not mind; nothing we do today matters, anyway. How did you manage to do it? What motivated you to do such a thing?"

Greece tuned to look at him; they stopped walking, looking at each other intensely. Greece was ashamed of the words which he had to say.

"It was the recession. I couldn't take it anymore, and I wanted to seize the day. I did it on the internet through hacking; transferring the money from the banks to my government's accounts."

Japan laughed then; a soft quiet laugh that Greece had not heard before, and that he instantly wanted to hear again. He too began to laugh.

"Never mind, then. Just beware of Switzerland's gun, later."

Greece stopped laughing, and Japan caught on quickly.

"That's my point. There'll probably be trouble later, so I thought that we should do something before this whole place goes crazy."

Japan nodded, looking about him; the sea was a bright, delicate blue, and the streets were filled with an excitable crowd. Looking back at Greece quickly, he replied.

"It is beautiful here, Girisu-kun."

Greece smiled broadly, flattered by the compliment. Gently, he released Japan's hands, and looked at him intently for a moment.

"Koukla, would you mind… if I kissed you?"

Japan shook his head, reaching up to touch, experimentally, Greece's face.

"No, I would not mind. Not today."

Slowly, Greece leaned into Japan, cupping the nation's face in his hands. He pressed their lips together delicately, waiting for a response from the other; he was not disappointed. Japan kissed back with a passion that Greece had not known he possessed. Still cautiously, Greece moved to deepen the kiss; Japan allowed him access to his mouth. When finally they pulled away, Greece's eyes were filled with questions.

"Did you enjoy that, koukla?"

"Yes, thank you, it was very pleasant, if not a little too full-on for me."

"I am glad, koukla. If you want to do it again, you need only ask."

Greece turned to walk on. He was no longer holding Japan's hand, afraid that the nation might object to any more physical contact than he had already initiated. Behind him, Japan made his second biggest decision of the day.

"Giri-kun, I am prepared to go all the way; to do with you what we did on that night in my dream."  
Greece turned in surprise and disbelief.

"Really, you mean it? To sleep with me, except for the purpose of love, not sexual experimentation, and to not deny it afterwards? I'm always saying that sex is drab, but with you, it would not be."  
Japan nodded, looking him in the eye with focus.

"Yes, I think that I am ready for that."

Greece came a second closer, his eyes again questioning.

"Are you sure that you are ready? I don't want to pressure you into anything; I don't want you to pressure yourself into anything either. I don't want it to be as if because it's today, you've decided to take the leap of faith or something. I want it to mean something this time."  
Japan paused, raising a hand to touch Greece lightly on the arm.

"It isn't anything like that; I am absolutely sure of what I am doing. I simply think that this situation gave me the confidence I needed to reach this decision. I have been prepared for a long time now."  
Greece nodded, seizing Japan's hand firmly.

"That is good. We should head home now and heat things up, perhaps?"  
Japan took his hand and walked beside him. His response was simple, but perfect.

"I am happy."

* * *

A quarter of an hour later, they were lying side by side on Greece's bed, closer than Japan had ever been to a person in more than half a century. He felt Greece remove his clothing, and responded by doing the same. Greece complemented him on his perfect body; he blushed slightly, made both ashamed and proud by the remark. He felt Greece touching him, and tried to relax; to forget the intrusion of his personal space and instead focus on the pure love that he was being given. As the rhythm increased, his pleasure also increased; eventually, they reached the point of actual sex, and Japan was ready for it. When they had both come, and were finished, he relaxed into the embrace of his lover, telling him that he loved him, and hearing the words back.

Again, the phone rang. Greece flinched, thinking it to be Switzerland, so the two left it to switch to answer phone. The message that came through, however, was not from Switzerland.

"Japan, this is Russia. I am declaring war on you because you violated the territory of my colleague, China. Your homeland is now under attack."

Japan turned to Greece, who looked back at him in similar bewilderment.

"Can't say I'm surprised, koukla. He…"

"I am sorry, but I have to leave to defend myself. I will see you as soon as I possibly can, if I win this war and am not destroyed."

* * *

The sound of America's haggard breathing filled the room. He was backed up against the wall; at the complete mercy of his brother. Trying to defend himself at this stage seemed almost completely pointless; he was bleeding heavily from two long gashes down his right arm, and had another deeper wound in his chest. Canada was pacing on the other side of the room; waiting, perhaps, for a cue to attack. Each time America tried to inch along the wall, he came a step closer, so that the distance between them closed.

"Canada, bro? This is not cool."

He was rewarded for his sentiments with a slash down his neck; not deep enough to kill, but deep enough that he gagged as the blood dripped down from the wound. The pain was so intense that he was blinded. In a sudden panic, he hit out in front of him, catching Canada on the jaw. Within moments the blade came down, striking his two middle fingers. With a cry, he pulled back, his hand sticky with blood; he shook it, trying to determine whether or not his fingers were still on. Before he could get within a safe distance, Canada stepped forward, driving the knife straight into his eyeball. The scream that followed was louder than any America had uttered before; he tried to pull himself off of the knife, his weakened body hitting the damp, blood coated floor. Straight away Canada was upon him, knife held up high in the air; ready to do brutal, bloody violence to him once more.

"No, America. I am done with you; I have had enough of having to pay with your mistakes. Now you shall pay for it. I want you to suffer."

He stabbed downwards again and again, opening up deep wounds in his victim's body. America felt blood pouring from his mouth as the world slowly slipped away from him. If only he could hold on for one more second, he would be able to fight back.

_Remember your people. Remember them and you can do anything; get through anything. They will give you the strength that you need._

Momentarily he forgot the speaker, but the words were enough. In a sudden burst of energy, he pushed Canada away from him, knocking the knife in the nation's hands to the floor with a clang. As if in a daze, America stood, staggering up and across the room. If he could only get out, he would be safe.

Canada stood, the fire still blazing in his eyes. Passing the lumbering figure of broken America, he was able to reach the knife and block his brother's exit from the room. Half blinded, America did not see Canada coming; a powerful kick to his side and he was down again. Sitting up, trembling slightly; still bleeding from his wounds, he felt the cold steel tip of Canada's knife against his cheek.

"Stop, Mattie. This isn't you; not really. Look, I'm sorry that people keep beating you up, but there are better ways to solve your problems than to attack me. Please, stop."

Hi answer came all too quickly as Canada's knife tore through the flesh of his face. His ears were buzzing so loudly that he didn't hear the strangled cry that rose from Canada's lips, or the emotion that flowed across his face.

It was hard for America to speak, but he spoke his last words in a gasp.

"Please Mattie, is this really what you want? You're my brother; I care about you. Stop; please, please stop."

The overbearing form of Canada stood above him, knife poised. His face was streaked with tears; pain and resignation was in his eyes as well as rage.

"It's too late."

As he spoke the final words, the knife came down in a graceful arc to meet with America's ravaged body. America felt the world slipping from him once more, but even as it did, he remembered the person who had said those words to him; the same person who had called him up that very morning requesting his protection.

Lithuania.

Some protection the nation was going to get now.

All nightmares come to an end; this particular nightmare was ended by the presence of a third nation. America did not see Cuba's strong arms life Canada away from his unconscious body, or see Canada collapse, sobbing, against the nation. He remained out of it, his body slowly healing; first the wounds on his arm, then the ones on his neck, his chest, his hands, his face and eye, and finally his stomach. The process would take the rest of the day, up until the minute where he would make his two final phone calls.

* * *

Liechtenstein lay in bed. Switzerland had allowed her to have a lie in, and was bringing her breakfast in bed. She had been awake for a while, but had not wanted to get up; it was warm in her bed, and very cozy. When her phone rang, she was able to reach over to her bedside table in order to pick it up.

"Hallo, this is Lilli."

"Liechtenlilli! It's Sealand. Look, I know that mean old Switzy won't let you have any fun today, but why don't you sneak out and join us anyway. Latvia's borrowed a car, and we're driving around Europe telling people exactly what we think about them, because that's what Latvia's always wanted to do. I've already told England that his scones suck and his eyebrows look like caterpillars. Look, Wy's here too, and she wants to see you. Latvia misses you too. Please join us."

Liechtenstein frowned slightly, a little offended.

"Switzerland isn't mean or old, he simply wants what's best for me. Also, why is Latvia driving? He's only fifteen."

"Yes, but Switzerland only wants you to himself. Also, we can do whatever we want today, so Latvia can drive if he wants. Please, join us! We miss you."

Liechtenstein sighed as she put the phone down, curling up under the duvet again. Switzerland entered the room, placing her breakfast on her lap.

"Morning, Lilli. It's good to be neutral and not to have to worry about anything, isn't it?"

Liechtenstein remained tucked in, trying not to speak with her mouth full.

"Yes, but don't you get bored of it sometimes?"

Switzerland frowned slightly, his facial expression freakishly similar to Liechtenstein's.

"I suppose so, but it is safer, and easier."

Again, the phone rang, but this time it was Switzerland's mobile. He picked it up; his boss was calling.

"Hallo, Switzerland speaking. ...What? All of the money is gone? How did this occur? Who did it? Oh, I see. You don't know. …But, of course, it must be Greece. Who else? …Yes, I'll get right onto it. Talk to you later."

He put down the phone, fury and alarm crossing his face. Liechtenstein looked up at him in confusion, although she was used to similar things happening.

"I am sorry, Lilli. That was my boss. the banks have all been robbed; I must go and catch the thief. You have a nice day, ok?"

"Ok, Switzy."

When he had gone, she got out of bed to get dressed. Eating as much of her breakfast as she could manage, and packing her bag quickly, she slipped out of the house. Within an hour, there were four people in Latvia's car.

* * *

It was raining in Lithuania. The nation was hiding out in his house as the rain lashed against the walls; he had dressed, but had absolutely no intention of carrying out Moscow's challenge. He was hiding in order to avoid two people, both of whom he knew would have made a beeline for his house as soon as the sun rose. He had been correct, because both of them were on their way; Russia was just pulling in at the driveway, and Estonia was approximately thirty miles away.

Russia got out of his car, locking it and making his way slowly up the driveway. The rain soaked him, but somehow he did not get wet. When he made it to the door, he struck it five times, receiving immediately no response.

"Litva? I know you're in there. You can't hide from me forever."

Lithuania stood up, crossed the hall and leant against the door. He was not at all in the mood to talk to, fight with or be raped by Russia; having to deal with Estonia later only contributed to his low mood.

"Litva?..."

Realising that it was pointless resisting any longer, Lithuania flung the door open with a force that he had never displayed in front of Russia before. Where was America? Had the nation really broken his promise?

"What do you want, Rusija? Why can't you just leave me alone?"

Russia stepped into the house carefully, standing a couple of steps away from Lithuania in case the nation decided to attack him or to run away.

"There's no need to be so rude, Litva. Why so violent? It isn't like you at all. You know what I want, da? I want things as they used to be. I miss you; all of you."

Lithuania laughed; a strange, barking laugh that actually managed to alarm Russia.

"You think that we would agree to that? After all that you did to us?"

Russia watched Lithuania cautiously for a while, raising a hand as if to touch him. Changing his mind, he brought it down again, before saying softly,

"Litva, I wronged you. I can see now that my actions were wrong. Stalin…"

"Don't just blame your boss! We all had bosses like yours; you were responsible for your own actions, however much pressure there was on you."

Russia stared straight ahead, his mind somewhere else; the turbulent history of his people. Lithuania was reliving similar memories.

"Ah, perhaps that is true. I regret my actions, Litva. I would not do the same again; if I would, I would have attacked and invaded you by now. I have changed."

Lithuania watched him cautiously; the way a person watches a wild animal poised for attack.

"That's as may be, but I don't like your actions of recent days. Offending America, disturbing Ukraine…"

Russia held up a hand to stop him.

"That is not my fault, as America himself has accepted, but let us not argue over it. I thought that perhaps you might be able to forgive me; you are a forgiving person, are you not?"

Lithuania sighed, walking across the room to sit down. Russia sat down on a chair near him, never taking his eyes off the nation.

"I'm sorry, Russia; as much as I'd like to forgive you, I have my people to think of. I have my own national identity, and my freedom. I want to keep it that way."

Russia blinked, breaking his deathly stare for the first time.

"But what about today, Litva, when nothing else matters?"

Lithuania shook his head in response.

"Russia, I do not love you. You must realise this. You do not love me either; you are simply obsessed with me. Obsessed with hurting me; with possessing me. As much as I'd like for you to find love, it cannot be with me. It must be with someone who is equal to you, and who loves you back."

Russia shook his head, his eyes following Lithuania.

"But that is not the end of hope, Litva. I am sure that you will come around eventually; I will wait here until you do. In the meantime, would you like to explain to me what happened between you and Estonia?"

Lithuania winced at the last comment, but kept an emotionless face when he replied.

"I won't 'come around', so if I were you I'd just go home. Belarus wants you; why don't you join up with her instead? What happened between me and Estonia is private; I would not like you to intrude."

Russia watched Lithuania for a long moment, monitoring the subtle changes in his facial expression.

"I will not leave; you will change your mind eventually. Belarus is out of the question, as you should understand. If you do not wish to tell me, then I will just have to guess. You should know that Estonia is at your door right this moment, however."

* * *

Lithuania's head jerked to the side as he registered the situation; he stood and walked over to the door, swinging it open in a similarly dramatic fashion to the one he'd used to welcome Russia. Estonia stood in front of the door, soaked to the skin and shivering. Pity overtook painful emotions; Lithuania pulled the nation inside quickly, removed his coat and wrapped him in a towel.

"Toris, I'm sorry. I wanted to see you today."

Lithuania blinked and shook his head, giving Estonia a sudden hug. Estonia stiffened, attempting to pull away.

"It's ok; I miss spending time with you. I'd rather that you were in the house than out in the cold."

Just at that moment, Estonia noticed Russia.

"What is _he_ doing here?"

Lithuania found himself laughing at Estonia's anger and alarm, despite having felt similar emotions himself.

"He came to persuade me to join him again. The answer was no, of course."

"Ah, Estonia. I haven't seen you in such a long time. How goes the IT skills? I hear that you are doing very well."

Estonia took a few steps to one side in order to face Russia.

"Excuse me for a moment, Leedu; I'd like to have a word with Russia."

Lithuania turned to go, but not before saying,

"I thought that you wanted to see me? Please don't kill each other while I'm gone."

* * *

Estonia began to approach Russia slowly, watching him in the way that Lithuania had earlier. Russia noticed, trying not to take offense.

"So, what happened between you and Litva? I'm concerned for his welfare."

Estonia ignored the remark, standing directly in front of Russia so that he was looking straight at the nation and had a position of minor authority.

"My God, you're annoying. Why can't you just leave us alone? You've already upset Lithuania today, it seems. Go away and stop trying to make us join up with you."

Russia looked at Estonia in surprise.

"I do not remember you being as tough as this, or as confrontational. Is it just today, or are you like this all the time? I have hardly bothered you. Litva looks fine to me; in fact, all the better for our talk, but he has been thinking about you constantly all day. Your breakup has plainly got to him."

Estonia stepped backwards in pain and fury.

"Who are you to try to talk to me about Lithuania's emotions? You're the bane and fear of our lives, and now you try to take it all back? That's not good enough; I order you to leave, and to leave right now, before it is too late."

Russia just laughed, amused by Estonia's outburst.

"What would you do, Estoniya, if I were to attack you now? You would not be able to defend yourself; Amerika is predisposed, and there is no-one else with the true capacity to defend you."

Before Russia had the chance to move again, Estonia pulled out a gun that had been attached to his belt and pointed the barrel at Russia's face.

"What have you done with America? Move and I'll shoot."

Russia barely flinched, continuing to laugh.

"A gun, Estoniya? You really are seizing the day. If it's really this easy, why did you never think of trying it before?"

Estonia blinked, momentarily confused. He opened his eyes again to look at Russia's eerie smile, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He took a step nearer to Russia, followed by another step, until they were so close the gun was almost touching the other nation.

In the other room, Lithuania sat silently, not knowing about the potential conflict occurring in the room opposite.

"The UN would not approve of me shooting you in the head. I don't know if there are different rules for you, but we're not generally allowed to shoot people."

Russia nodded, accepting the explanation. Lifting his hand slightly, he tilted the gun so that it was pointing away from him; Estonia faltered.

"Da, I suppose that that makes sense. You would not want to offend any of your precious associations; the UN, NATO, the EU… you should know that it was Kanada who attacked Amerika, not myself. I would never hurt Amerika. Why do you care so much about that particular nation, anyway?"

Estonia lowered the gun, taking another step backwards away from Russia; Russia did not move.

"Very well. If you will not move, you leave me with no choice but to lock you in here while I talk to Lithuania. You have a reprieve from potential fatality for the rest of today. I only care about America because he is important to Lithuania; he means a lot to Lithuania. I am going to speak to Lithuania now, but you should know that it was he who broke us up, rather than myself, so his unhappiness is of his own making."

Having spoken, Estonia placed the gun on the table, walking smoothly out of the room. Russia watched him go, remaining seated; Estonia's final comment had not surprised him at all. Lithuania was so used to suffering that sometimes it became almost self-inflicted; it was the duty of whoever was with him to prevent that from happening, meaning that whatever had happened between the two of them was still Estonia's fault.

* * *

As Estonia entered, locking the door behind him, Lithuania stood up to greet him. The other nation crossed the room, grabbing Lithuania's hand with both of his and warming it. Lithuania nodded, threading a hand through Estonia's blonde hair comfortingly.

"I missed you, Leedu."

Lithuania nodded, but would not look directly at him.

"I missed you too."

There was a pause as they simply stood and looked at each other, barely making eye contact. Estonia spoke again, cautiously.

"Lithuania, do you want…"

There was something about his hesitance which he couldn't control; he was failing to complete the challenge, similarly to Lithuania. There was a fear which he had felt when he agreed to take it up; the knowledge that he would not follow through. Pointing a gun at Russia was one thing; it was easy enough to stand up to someone who meant nothing to you, but he was too afraid of what he had left of his relationship with Toris to act on it. The whole incident with Russia had stemmed from pent up emotions caused by his history and the breakup; he no longer had complete control over his emotions.

"Yes, Eduard?"

Lithuania's face was tense, as was his posture; he waited for Estonia to speak, feeling the nation's tightened grip his arms.

"God, Toris, I want you. I love you. I never stopped loving you; don't forget it."

Lithuania backed away from Estonia in alarm, desperation in his eyes. Estonia followed him, closing slowly the gap between them.

"Please, Eduard, not now. I can't…"

Estonia kept following Lithuania's footsteps, pulling the nation to him in a desperate embrace.

"Can't you see it? When did you stop loving me? You never explained why we broke up…"

Lithuania shook his head, a single tear rolling down his cheek as he strained to be free from Estonia's grasp.

"I still love you, Eduard. I just couldn't bear it; the way I was treating you. It was killing me inside, seeing how hard you had to work for me. I don't want to hurt anyone, and I was hurting you."

Estonia began to sob heavily, his face buried in Lithuania's shirt.

"You destroyed me, Lithuania. How long has it taken you to realise? For all that you pretend to be still friends with me, it's all a lie. I'll never stop loving you; getting nothing in return, when I know that you care about me too… it kills me, Toris. I can't do this anymore. This is how I feel, and I think that you should know."

Lithuania stared at Estonia for a moment, before deciding to hold him. Reaching up to touch the nation's face, he gave him a quick hug.

"How long have you kept this in? I was avoiding you because I didn't want this to happen; I didn't want you to fall apart."

Estonia pushed himself away from Lithuania, disgust flooding his features. Lithuania staggered backwards

"That's where you are wrong, Lithuania. You said yourself that you made things worse, rather than better."

Lithuania watched him, a fear in his eyes that Estonia had never seen before. Deciding that he really was going to seize the moment, he stepped forward until he was standing directly in front of the nation, his hands gripping Lithuania's shoulders. In a move, he pinned the nation that he loved against the wall, feeling his trembling, shaking body.

"All I want is you near to me."

Forcefully, he pressed his lips against Lithuania's, feeling the desperate resistance of the other. Lithuania pressed against him, fighting to be free of the contact. The kiss burned through the nation; a searing, red hot feeling that hurt worse than any physical pain he had experienced before. Lithuania gave a final desperate cry, pushing Estonia abruptly away from him and dropping weakly to the floor. Estonia staggered backwards; he had expected to be slapped, but instead had to suffer the sight of the broken nation in front of him. He broke down, bending down beside Lithuania, begging for forgiveness.

"Lithuania, I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. Please forgive me; I don't deserve you."

They wept together, Lithuania holding onto Estonia as if what had happened no longer mattered. He whispered his reply.

"I forgive you. It was wrong of me to break up with you, but I'm not ready to get back together with you. I will tell you when I reach that stage."

Estonia nodded, reaching up to push the hair out of the other nation's face. They were still holding each other tightly.

"I thought that I knew what I wanted, but I was wrong. I want to make you happy."

* * *

On the other side of the door, Russia had heard every word of their conversation. Silently, he stood, removing the gun from the table and holding it carefully in his arms. A single tear rolled down his cheek as he crossed the room to the door, but it was gone before anyone noticed. The voices on the other side could still be heard.

Russia stood back from the door as Lithuania walked through it; the nation did not acknowledge his presence, but Russia did not mind. There was a slight swag in Lithuania's step, and Russia found himself hoping that Lithuania might get the chance, if only for a day, to be powerful once more. When the door slammed, he waited for about five minutes before entering the room which Estonia was in. Carefully, he crossed the room. Estonia looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder; Russia held out the gun, and he opened his hands. Slowly, Russia lowered the gun into Estonia's grasp, feeling the nation's hands close over it. With a single nod, he turned and walked away, preparing to leave the house for good.

* * *

It was with some trepidation that Germany rejoined Prussia. He found the nation exactly where he had expected to find him; in the centre of Berlin, in front of the Reichstag, surrounded by the most passionate of all of the Germans. Counting through the rows, he could see that there were thousands of them, if not quite half a million. Turning to his brother, he inquired as to how many had signed the petition for a Prussian nation.

They were short of approximately 20,000. Germany immediately asked Prussia how he had been gathering people; on discovering that Prussia had used the radio, he immediately suggested use of the television.

"How many replies have you received, West?"

"I have 47 yeses, as well as several personal messages."

Prussia picked up the phone and flicked through, muttering to himself.

"Damn Russia, has it occurred to you that I'm not East Germany anymore?... Thanks England, but don't think that anything will happen between us… yeah, Lithuania, just because I beat you… Mattie, you didn't have to… Hungary. Why am I not surprised?..."

Germany decided to leave Prussia to his musings; he had other things to do of more personal significance. Picking up his nation's identity card, and a small bag, he strode out of the door for the second time that day.

* * *

England had just poured himself a cup of tea; he was sitting in his lounge, contemplating calling Japan back, but deciding not to on the grounds that the man in question appeared to have lost his mind; declaring war on China, going to war with Russia. His prediction of the event turning to anarchy was proving at least half correct; from all over the globe there had been reports of conflicts or conflicts to be, and he had received the strangest call from Canada, which had caused him to become more than a bit concerned for America's health. His unhappiness was increased furthermore by the lack of communication from that particular nation; somewhere within him, he held the faintest of hopes that America might use the opportunity to declare undying love for him, however the nation did not appear to have any intention of doing so, by the looks of his speech that morning. Thoroughly depressed, England began to drink his tea, flicking through the messages received from the other non-participants as he did so. There was little news; Switzerland had recently arrived in Greece, Spain was invading pretty much everywhere, and Japan and Belarus were both avidly pursuing Russia; who got there first would be of great significance.

England finally lifted his teacup to his lips, preparing for the hot liquid that awaited him. Before he even had the chance to take a sip, however, there were several loud knocks on the door. Sighing and putting his teacup down, he got up and went to answer it, hoping somehow that it would be America who was standing outside.

To his shock and possible horror, Germany and France stood side by side on his doorstep,in mutual ignorance.

"Hello? What do you want?"

"Ah, England, there is something which I would like…"

"Nein, I was first, there is something which I…"

"Non, non, me first… would like to tell you. It is…"

England felt himself becoming increasingly infuriated with the strangeness of their actions; he took several steps back, beckoning them in, before saying irritably,

"Spit it out already, would you? I haven't got all day."

The two nations who were his greatest historical opponents froze, staring at him for a second. It was Germany who spoke.

"Very well, you speak first, France, although I doubt that he wants to listen to anything that you have to say."

France stepped back, affronted slightly.

"Ignoring that insult, It is about time that I told you… I am in love with you."

"What!"

England jumped back in alarm at the declaration, but France did not move an inch. Shock came to Germany's face as it finally occurred to him what had happened.

"I am sorry for the confusion, but that was exactly what I was going to say. I too am in love with you, England."

England's face displayed horror, followed by confusion. Finally, laughter. As the sound of his laughter died away, the two other nations stood looking at each other, a newfound hostility between them. Questions and accusations began to fill the air as England backed away.

"But, you and Italy. You've always been made for each other."

"You have always hated each other; you are enemies."

"The two of you always argue over Europe."

"What about Canada?"

The answers began to come out too; England listened more closely to them than to the questions. He did not love these nations; his love was for a nation on another continent who didn't appear to care about him one bit.

"Italy and I broke up long ago; our personalities clashed too much."

"We are enemies, but that only makes us love one another more. We have, ahem, a bit of an obsession with one another, you might say."

"I only wish to impose control over him so that I can be closer to him. He does not understand…"

"Mathieu is more interested in Cuba and in Prussia than in me; America in turn is more interested in Russia, although he will not admit it to himself."

Finally, their argument came to an abrupt end, having reached no conclusions. Simultaneously, they turned to England for their answers, saying the same word in unison.

"Choose."

England walked out of the room, poured himself a glass of ale and drank heavily.

* * *

By the time Spain arrived at England's house, the air was filled with laughter and song. Knocking several times, but to no avail, he decided just to enter. Straight away, he was greeted by a trio of overly happy Europeans, influenced heavily by the alcohol that they had been drinking. Spain was in no position for greeting partying Europeans; he was armed and dressed for battle, and determined to carry out his aims.

"England, I have come to declare war on you."

England just laughed, swaying slightly.

"Oh God, not this again. You beat me once; aren't you satisfied?"

"You destroyed my armada; I cannot forgive."

England tilted his head to one side, taking in Spain's power-hungry expression.

"Very well, we duel."

He turned to fetch his sword, still swaying; about halfway there he turned, looking back at Spain in sarcastic contemplation.

"But if we duel, it won't be the same as the armada. We should play battleships instead."

Spain smirked slightly, realising that a semi-drunken England would be much safer and easier to beat in a game of battleships than in a sword fight.

"Alright, you're on."

Seventeen rematches later, most of Western Europe was crowded round the table, watching the game. Fortunately, England had a surprisingly limited amount of alcohol, meaning that most of them were sober enough to be around. The final nation to enter was the nation who, as a result of not participating in the challenge, had spent the entire day pursuing Spain. The stir that Italy Romano caused by his entrance was one that would go down in the memories of every nation in the room; the brunette strode through the door, overturned the game and began shouting in vibrant Italian tones at his partner.

"Bastard, I have been pursuing you all day, trying to put a stop to this bullshit that you are creating. Attacking countless African countries and claiming them as your own is not a good thing; just because you are jealous of England and France's past achievements does not mean that you should try to mirror their mistakes. I have cleaned up your messes for you, bastard, and all I want in return is for you to remember who you really are."

Spain blinked, looking at Romano in shock. Around the room, a dull murmur began to emanate from the European nations; the strangled half-silence was broken by France's slow and deliberate applause. England stood up, stepping away from the upturned coffee table, before muttering something about needing another drink. Slowly, the rest of Western Europe began to disperse, leaving Spain and Romano standing alone in the room.

"Romano, I'm… sorry."

"You got it, bastard?"

"Yes, Romano, I've got it."

With a groan of displeasure, Romano walked off, leaving Spain sanding there, calling after him. He had wanted to make up with Romano properly, but the nation was having none of it.

* * *

Wang Yao walked to his door, knife poised. He was expecting two visits; one from his foe, Japan, and another from his ally, Russia. Expecting to have to either step back to let the visitor in or strike the visitor with his wok, he swung it open with more energy than he knew he possessed.

The Korean on the pavement visibly flinched, stepping back when he caught sight of the wok.

"What have I done to you? There's no reason to knock me out."

"What do you expect, visiting without warning?"

The Chinese man was relieved that it had not been the two alternatives, but not at all pleased to see the Korean. The other nation's intentions were more than obvious, so he kept his wok in hand.

"China, I was wondering, can I…"

"No. Out."

The Korean was unfazed by the China's objections, continuing in his unsuccessful attempts to make a move.

"I love you."

"How can you, when you are still convinced that I am a woman?"

"I would love you whatever your gender."

"I will never love you, whatever your gender. Out."

"Only if you say that shinatty-chan originated in Korea."

The wok came down.

* * *

It was perhaps lucky that the policemen of Italy, Slovenia and Croatia didn't notice the jeep that stormed through their nations, a thirteenteen year old boy at the wheel. Latvia had handed over control of the car to Sealand in a slightly unwise move; the girls were seated in the back, their hair flying out behind them. The car had journeyed at breakneck speed from England; with nations behind the wheel, distance and time were no longer relevant. Their destination was Greece, and their aim was to save the life of said nation. As the car finally grinded to a halt in Athens, the four jumped out, jogging as fast as they could in the direction of the government buildings.

"Liechtenlilli, do you think that you will be able to stop him?"

It was Latvia who spoke first, genuine concern for Greece's health in his voice. Concern for others was something that he had learnt and copied from Lithuania during their stay at Russia's house; nourished and encouraged by his own pain.

"Of course. He will drop everything that he is doing as soon as he sees me."

The sound of her own voice made her wince; the acknowledgement of what she had finally chosen to prevent.

"Why are we even bothering to do this anyway?"

It was Wy who spoke, her nose turned up at the thought. Sealand was quick to agree with her, always following her lead. Latvia turned, a new spark in his eyes.

"Because I say so. I want to do what I want today, and that is standing for what is right and what is true. If you want, you can go home."

Sealand stared at Latvia for a moment, before starting to laugh.

"Alright superman, I'll stay and be your sidekick."

The two girls began to slow their pace behind the boys as they walked through the streets of Greece in the direction of the government buildings. As they had expected, a large crowd of citizens had formed nearby; the policemen had put up a barricade to keep them off. Latvia walked right up to the barricade and spoke to one of the officers. Informed that nobody was permitted to enter the area, he explained that they were nations and were needed to stop whatever was going on. Slightly afraid, the officers opened up a gap in the barricade to let them through.

On crossing the empty space, they discovered exactly what they had expected; Switzerland holding a gun to Greece's temple. The victim did not seem very alarmed by this situation; if possible, he was half asleep, his eyes closed and his body relaxed. Switzerland was threatening and claiming, his eyes ablaze.

"Bruder?"

With a thud the gun hit the floor; his head snapped round, shock in his eyes.

"Liechten… Lilli? What are you doing here? I thought that I told you to stay at home."

Liechtenstein stepped back a few paces in case her brother became angry. Switzerland had never been angry with her before, but she'd seen him get that way with others.

"I'm sorry, bruder, but I wanted to go and spend time with my friends. I hope that you don't mind; I wanted to have a go at this challenge too."

Switzerland blinked, trying to digest the new information. Within an instant, his mind had switched it and changed it to what he wanted to hear.

"I don't mind, Lilli; you simply don't understand. Neutrality is the best way, as I have explained to you many times before."

Liechtenstein didn't break off her gaze, staring straight back at him.

"No. I'm sorry, bruder, but I think you're wrong. Neutrality isn't always the best thing. For example, if we hadn't have been here, you might have shot Greece in the head, which wouldn't have been either a good thing or neutral. It is our duty to prevent that from happening."

Switzerland could only stare. He had not expected his little sister to have opinions that differed from his own, let alone to carry them out in real life.

"He stole money from me, Liechtenstein. All of it. I had no choice but to attack him, since he forced me to withdraw from neutrality."

He tilted the gun again in the direction of Greece, who yet again didn't react to the danger at hand.

"But there are other reasons for people to attack others. Wrong reasons."

Switzerland sighed, bringing the gun down to his side.

"It's better this way. just trust me, Lilli."

Liechtenstein took a few steps forwards, her eyes piercing and green.

"This way, Switzerland? There is no 'this way' about it. I have chosen my way now, and it is different to yours. Although you support me and take responsibility for much of my maintenance, I am a separate country from you; independent from you. I suggest that you put that gun down and leave Greece alone, otherwise you have a fight on your hands."

Switzerland laughed; a low, nervous laugh that echoed around the area.

"Don't be foolish, Lilli. I couldn't fight you."

"Then I suggest that you put the gun down. Greece will pay you back in due course; I can assure you."

It was at this moment that Greece finally displayed some nerves; he nodded slowly to Liechtenstein, and Switzerland lowered his gun. Liechtenstein apologised to her brother for going against his will, before joining the others. The four small immortals pushed their way back through the crowds; Greece and Switzerland followed somewhere behind.

* * *

Their next stop was in Hungary; the nation did not answer her door when they called, but the four decided to enter anyway. They found her alone on her bed, weeping softly.

"Miss Hungary?"

The nation stirred at the sound of her name, turning over to meet the eyes of the four adolescents.

"Latvia? Lilli? Sealand? What are you doing here?"

"We came here to solve all of your problems."

Again, it was Wy who spoke. The lack of a greeting had annoyed her slightly; she was determined to make her presence known.

"Oh, Wy dear, I'm sorry I missed you. I… don't really want to talk about them right now."

Sealand moved closer to her, his eyes appealing and strangely vulnerable.

"Come on ma'am, let us hear you out. We want to help, and we won't tell anyone."

Hungary sighed, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. Standing up, she walked over to a nearby armchair, indicating for the young personifications to sit on the other chairs nearby. As there were only two, Liechtenstein ended up sitting on Latvia's lap and Wy on Sealand's.

"You're just kids; you won't understand, but anyway… you know about the challenge, don't you? …Of course you do; you're participating in it right this minute. Well, anyway, I thought that what I wanted most was to please Mr Austria, so that's what I did. I didn't object when he stopped me from speaking in favour of Germany, and I let him let Germany annex him when I could've fought back for his sake. Now that I think about it, I realise that I don't really want to make him happy; I want _him_. I can't forgive myself for that, and he doesn't seem to realise or care."

The four sat absorbed in the complexities of adult romances, inwardly making comparisons to their own. It was Latvia who produced the answer, as they had all expected it to be.

"Excuse me for pointing it out to you, Miss Hungary, but Austria doesn't really care about you; he just wants your territory. He's just a freeloader, and he doesn't love you at all."

Hungary winced at the words, denial in her eyes.

"No, that can't be true. Of course Austria cares about me; you're just too young to understand these things."

At once, a small murmur of discontent passed between the four; it was Sealand who addressed her.

"But of course it's true; everyone knows it. Even jerk England talks about it whenever your name comes up, and so do Sweden and Finland."

A widening of the eyes. Liechtenstein added to it.

"Don't say that we don't understand what love is; of course we do. We're teenagers; we feel attraction, and sometimes even love, just as strongly as you do. Also, if someone tells me I'm not old enough to have my own opinion one more time today, I may well start World War Three. You'll be surprised to hear that I'm capable of it."

The others turned to look at her; Latvia and Sealand in alarm, Wy in admiration. Hungary continued blinking rapidly, attempting to prevent the tears from falling once more.

"Thank you for your advice; I'm sorry, but I'd rather be left alone right now."

The three nodded, getting to their feet to move on to the next European country.

* * *

When Japan finally met Russia, he already had his sword in hand. They were standing perhaps several feet in front of Lithuania's garden, Russia having just exited the premises and Japan being just about to enter them. Freezing into their positions, they stood for a moment, silently taking each other in. Russia brought out his pipe.

"So it all comes down to this, da? You threaten China, you pay for it."

"We both know that this is not about China-san, Russia-san. This is about you and I, and your issue of never being satisfied with my past victories over you."

"My motives are not important here; what is important is that your blood will water Litva's garden; a fine start as a new member of the Russian federation."

Japan brought his sword within inches of Russia's face.

"For this, you will pay. Never again will you dare to think about occupying another country's land or enslaving its people; I will destroy you."

Russia simply raised his pipe above his head, preparing to smash downwards.

"Very well; we shall fight."

It was Japan who made the first advance; Russia's misinterpreted Lithuania remark had offended him to the point of physical attack. Stepping forward, he thrust the sword in the direction of Russia's chest with a force to kill. Sidestepping neatly, Russia swung the pipe at Japan, but not before the Asian nation had ducked and taken another blow in Russia's direction. The sword glanced of Russia's shoulder; the nation only just managing to move in time. Before he moved, Japan had made a volley of cuts; twisting to avoid the sword, he brought the pipe down, and for a second they were pushing up against each other, the forces of two great nations in collision. Staggering backwards, Japan once more thrust forward; the blow was aimed for the kill. The Russian moved, but not fast enough; The sword struck his side, opening a deep wound. Hissing in pain and staggering backwards, his uniform reddened with blood, Russia attempted to gain his balance. His heavy body did not move fast enough; before he was stable, the sword had taken a slice from his shoulder, glancing off of his cheek. He was on the ground; at Japan's mercy, accompanied by the stinging of wounds and the flowing of blood into his eyes.

Anger returned to him; fury that he had been so easily damaged. Surging almost suddenly to his feet, he registered that his opponent was yielding. Japan was tired; he had not fought in a long time, and his battle strength was greatly weakened. Russia took advantage of this; blindly, he swung the pipe at the nation, hearing the crunch as it connected with Japan's collarbone. Japan cried out; more of a noise than Russia had made despite his wounds, but did not give in. With a newfound vengeance, he regained control of the sword; Russia was too weakened to move. The sword plunges into him, twisting skilfully. Japan released it out of pity, feeling the nation before him fall. Before Russia fell, he defended himself, swinging out at Japan with all the strength that was left within him. The pipe struck his head, and Japan fell to his knees almost at the same time as Russia. Kneeling before the other, he received several more blows; his bones breaking as quickly as they fell. Russia wasn't in a much better condition; his wounds were seeping blood and something worse, his eyes swimming with red and yellow. Japan managed one more blow before the world took their weapons from them; he received a painful slash across his stomach, the tip of the sword catching his fingers. Finally they hit the floor, continuing to fight one another despite the loss of proper weapons; teeth and nails, bone and flesh. At the last moment, they fell away from each other, lying in a pool of blood of their own making. The last thing that Japan thought before he blacked out was that he had been fighting for what was right.

* * *

They had not fought without witness; the final arrival of Belarus at Lithuania's home lead to a window of recovery for Russia. The loud noises that the nations had been making in battle had drawn Estonia and Lithuania from their respective locations to the source of the fighting; they too stood above the two military giants, looking down upon them. After the moment of silence and shock had fallen away, eyes were raised to meet one another's, and steps were taken in the direction of the fallen.

Out of status and insistence, Estonia and Lithuania immediately were at Japan's side, examining his injuries with a shake of their heads, before returning to the house for water and medical treatments. Nearby, Belarus lay sobbing on the damaged body of Russia, despite her intentions being fulfilled. With some hesitation, she followed the other two nations back to the house, listening with some shock to the senseless exchange that passed between them. Despite all that had happened between them, Estonia and Lithuania were determined to remain civil.

"I can't believe that the two of them would just do that to one another. I thought that Russia was focused only on us, and that Japan was a pacifist."

"The world is a terrible place, Leedu, as I myself have proven today."

Lithuania shook his head, the pain that he was feeling reaching the surface.

"I just wish that I could get away from all this; to have a think about things."

Estonia smiled then; a sad, small smile that broke Lithuania's heart all over again.

"Perhaps you should. Go out; have a go at this challenge. Do what you want to do!"

It was strange how such shallow, happy words could have such deep-set sorrow filled meanings.

"It's been a long time since I last got the chance to do anything like that; maybe I will. By the way, did you get a text from your boss about Latvia?"

"What about him?"

The air between the two of them thinned as their conversation approached familiar ground.

"He's taken a car and gone out driving with Liechtenstein and the micronations; they'll cause plenty of trouble later."

Estonia looked slightly shocked at the words, but his ability to take anything in his stride came into immediate play.

"I'll watch out for that. Are you going to leave now? I need some time to myself."

"Yes, I think that I will. What about Japan though, and Russia? Is it wise to leave him to Belarus?"

"I will take care of Japan for you; do not feel guilty about leaving me, since I need this time. I am sure that Belarus will take care of Russia to the best of her ability."

"Ok, I will leave."

Estonia put up a hand to stop Lithuania, and for a moment, something like hope appeared in the other nation's eyes.

"Lithuania, before you leave, you should know that America never turned up today because he was attacked by Canada."

Estonia noticed the disappointment in Lithuania's face, but did not take back his words.

"Oh, I see. Erm, goodbye then?"

"Listen, Lithuania… I know that I've mistreated you today, but you should know that I'll always be there for you if you ever come back. I still love you, you know."

Lithuania froze, raising his hands to take hold of Estonia's. The nation gripped his tightly, but suddenly Lithuania pulled away, giving a tiny shake of his head. Estonia's hands dropped to his sides as the nation walked away from him, a few tears falling from his eyes. It was too late.

* * *

Western Europe had left by the time England received his second phone call of the day; he had left a voicemail reply for Japan arranging to meet up on another day when things were less insane. The call was from Moscow, and was about their intentions for the nations once the day was over.

"England? It's Moscow. The other neutral nations are predisposed with various current global crises, but we should still continue with our plan. Do you have the magic ready?"

England was heavily under the influence of alcohol, and not happily at that.

"Ah yes, the magic that makes you forget anything! Now doesn't that sound thrilling? Of course, I will save it up for the world meeting, so you can all enjoy the experience of forgetting too. If only I could forget what I have learnt today…"

Moscow's voice became alarmed on the other end of the phone.

"But England, that stuff isn't for us; it's for the other nations. Are you feeling quite alright? Please try to remember who it's for."

England began to laugh and cry at the same time, his emotions and the alcohol overwhelming him.

"But I want to forget. The bastard Kraut and the frog are in love with me, and I want to die because of it. I don't love them back; I want things to go back to how they were."

Moscow sighed.

"Yes, but it isn't for you."

"Well fine, if you insist, but I want what's left."

Inwardly, he had no intention of obeying her instructions. He decided against taking the stuff where he was, choosing instead to take it in front of Germany and France as a complete rejection of their advances.

* * *

Estonia ended up assisting Belarus with Russia; by the time they were finished, Japan was awake, and just about able to sit up. With the help of Estonia, he made his way over to the unconscious body of Russia, next to which Belarus had begun building a campfire. Estonia sat slumped beside it, eyes closed. Belarus watched him in alarm from where she was standing; Japan lay on the floor again, staring up at the sunset above. He turned to see Estonia's posture, along with Belarus' alarmed stare.

"Excuse me for intruding, but is there something wrong making you sit like that?"

Estonia inclined his head upright, despair in his eyes. Japan blinked slightly; Belarus knelt down beside the fire in order to get a better view of the nation.

"I have done a terrible thing."

Estonia would later appreciate the reaction; Japan gave a small sigh of indifference, and Belarus began to laugh softly. It was Japan who responded to him, Belarus not wishing to give the other two anything.

"I am sure that anything you have done is nowhere near as terrible as what I have done. I attacked and tried to kill Russia, and now I must pay for it."

It was Estonia's turn to laugh; maintained a steady stare at the sound. Doubt flickered over Belarus' features

"I don't have a problem with that; you acted with a valid motive. I myself threatened Russia with a gun today, so you're not alone in wanting to hurt him. I regret doing it now, but what I did was worse. I hurt Lithuania, the nation that I love, and also the nation that I believe you were trying to defend."

Belarus responded before Japan could get a word in, her eyes blazing with anger, arms splayed out in front of her.

"How dare you excuse him from attacking Russia! It's wrong for you to attack any country, even if you have a grudge against them. I personally will avenge any harm done to my brother, including by the two of you."

Japan gave a single nod, sitting up in order to address the other two. A new alarm appeared in Estonia's eyes at the prospect of being attacked by Belarus.

"As much as it is hard for me to admit, she is right, Estonia-san. It was wrong for me to attack him; I should have waited until the time came to defend, which it may not have. You say that you hurt Lithuania-san? I am sorry, I do not understand that; could you please explain? Belarus-san, I would not recommend that you fought us, simply for the reason that your brother wouldn't like it."

The words were not in vain; Belarus relaxed slightly, while Estonia gave a nod of agreement. He waited for the other nation to speak first, knowing that what he had to say would take longer.

"Very well, I will not avenge your brother. You have probably suffered enough for it anyway at his hands."

After a mutual nod of agreement, the two nations turned to Estonia, waiting for him to speak. As he told the story of his and Lithuania's flawed relationship, he put his head in his hands and began to weep again.

"You've probably both realised by now that Lithuania and I were… together… in the time leading up to a few weeks ago. I was happy in the relationship; I love him more than anything, but he was always unhappy, simply because he felt that he was making me unhappy."

Japan interrupted then, apologising profusely for doing so.

"I am sorry for interrupting, but I don't understand."

Estonia barely moved, his fingers making patterns lightly in the dust.

"What I mean is that I had to go to all lengths to please him, and Lithuania hated that, being as selfless as he is. It was making him terribly unhappy, but I didn't mind at all; I would do anything for him. He broke up with me giving this as his reason, but I don't believe that it is the whole truth. I wish that he would just tell me why…"

Japan stood up, wincing as he did so. Carefully, he walked over to Estonia, placing a hand awkwardly on the man's shoulder. Attempting to follow his example, Belarus walked round the campfire and did the same, wrapping an arm hesitantly around him. Estonia shook with sobs.

"Today was… a time when I decided to let go; to try and get him back at any cost, so I drove here in the same way that your brother did, Belarus. Russia got here first; when I arrived he was trying to persuade Lithuania to join him again. I was surprised; I expected him to attack Lithuania the way that he did so long ago, but apparently he no longer wants to do it that way. He wants Lithuania to come willingly…"

Once more Japan interrupted; this time out of shock.

"Excuse me… when I attacked him, it was because he said to me that he wanted Lithuania-san… it doesn't make sense."

Estonia laughed again, the bitter sound cutting through his tears in the same way it had through England's.

"Russia is bewildering me at the moment, what with the gun incident and everything else. Earlier on, after I arrived at Russia's house, I threatened him with a gun in order to get Lithuania to go away; not the incident I just mentioned, since that was separate, but still relevant… no Belarus, don't attack me for it... Anyway, after Russia let us be, I went to Lithuania. We talked through this; I tried to persuade him to get back with me again. He wanted to, I think, but… he wouldn't allow himself too. He still couldn't give me a proper explanation, so I became angry with him. I wanted him more than anything, so… I kissed him. I pushed him against the wall and forced myself against him.

I broke him. I could see it in his eyes when I stopped; the pain in his eyes stopped me."

Estonia paused, weeping harder than he had before. Japan shook him, forcing the nation to meet his eyes.

"But what you did to him was not that bad, Estonia-san."

Estonia looked at Japan in sorrow.

"You don't understand. Even if I had killed him, I couldn't have hurt him as much as I did today. It was more that it was me than anything else. Even if… for example, Russia… raped him and beat him within an inch of his life, it would be nothing to him in comparison to this. The fact that _I_ could do that to him has destroyed him."

Belarus was staring, her grip on Estonia relaxing slightly. Japan asked the next question.

"So you are suggesting by this that you believe he still loves you?"

They flinched as Estonia began to laugh again.

"Oh, I know that he still loves me; I'm sure of it."

It was Belarus' turn to speak, finally saying what she had originally intended to say.

"So when the two of you were talking earlier, you weren't… never mind. If he loves you, then why don't you pursue him? He knows you well enough to know that you won't do it again, and he will still love you no matter once."

Estonia stopped weeping, looking at Belarus with such a fierce expression that she recoiled.

"I do not want to force myself on him again. He's been bothered with me enough; it's because I truly love him that I want to leave him in peace. When he is ready, he will come back. I don't want to hurt him, and he doesn't want to be bothered by me."

Belarus took several steps backwards away from him, the other two nations standing to follow her. Her facial expression was that of shock and fear, mirrored by their own.

"So what does that make me? Vile, disgusting, selfish, evil, cruel and undeserving of life? Probably. I mean, look at what I've done, and compare me to yourself. You're really getting upset over nothing; both of you. For years I've pursued the person that I 'loved', believing that I knew what love was. Turns out that I was wrong; I never knew what it truly meant after all. I'm not fit to live; as a nation or as a person. I ought to just kill myself, but I'm nowhere near brave enough to do so."

She turned to Estonia, looking directly at him.

"You say that Lithuania's in love with you? Well, you should know that he loved me long before he loved you. Perhaps you deserved him more than me; after all, I never opened my eyes to see him standing behind me, and if I had been in your situation, I would probably be pursuing him right now. Because that's what I do. Pursue the ones I love. Does it make me happy? I don't think so, but I probably don't deserve happiness. Look at me. I'm nothing; just a mess."

Estonia walked over to her, grabbing her firmly by the shoulders in order to control her.

"Listen to me, Belarus. You're not 'just nothing'. We've all done terrible things, and I'm sure that there's more to you underneath, even if you won't let the rest of the world, or even yourself, see."

Belarus shook her head, pushing him away roughly.

"That may be true, but I've wasted myself. I've wasted myself and it's too late now. I've hurt my brother, and so many others besides him. My people aren't happy; you probably don't know this, but I have had problems. I've had enough of this; I have nothing left. My brother will never love me back, and I shouldn't feel this way for him; he's my brother."

Finally losing her self control, she reached down on the floor for Japan's blood-coated sword. Seeing her, Japan sprang for it, but his injuries caused him to fall. Before she could lift it to her throat, he attempted to jerk it out of her hands, however she pulled back. For a moment they wrestled; arm on arm, hand on hand, until Japan at last managed to pull it away from her.

"Stop, Belarus-san. How could all of these thoughts have come about so quickly? One minute you were fine, the next you had this outburst. Did Estonia-san's story really have this much of an effect on you?"

Belarus was crying, tears streaking down the side of her face like raindrops on a windy day.

"I suppose that I've always felt like this. The speech just brought it to the fore. I felt compelled to continue pursuing Russia, since that's what I've been doing all along. Now give me the sword back so that I can end it all."

Japan raised the sword above his head, before throwing it as far away as he could. It fell with a clatter to the floor about forty metres away, Belarus immediately turning to pursue it. Japan took hold of her arms, pinning her to the ground despite the pain that it caused him. As she struggled beneath him, a fourth figure appeared behind Japan.

"Release her."

Japan turned, arms still pinning down Belarus.

"I can't, Russia-san. If I do, she will kill herself."

Russia didn't react to the statement at all, indicating that he had already realised this.

"I will talk to her. She will not do such a thing."

It was a mark of respect, or perhaps trust, that Japan released Belarus. Gasping, she turned over, looking up at her brother from the ground. Before he could get a word in, the fourth member of their party spoke.

"Mr Russia, your wounds…"

"Are very nearly on the mend, thanks to your efforts. The same can be said about Japan. You are a wonderful healer, Estonia."

Estonia waited for several seconds before responding, hesitant to ask the next question.

"Th-thank you. How long have you been awake for, then?"

"Hm, tough one, maybe from when you said that you had done a terrible thing? Maybe a little before that?"

Estonia gave a tiny gasp.

"So you heard everything that I said?"

Russia gave a small chuckle.

"I would have found out what happened between the two of you eventually, one way or another. Now, Belarus, would you care to explain yourself to me?"

Belarus didn't answer, not even reacting when Russia pulled her to her feet in order to look her in the eye.

"Killing yourself is never the answer, nyet? Things always get better."

Belarus shrugged, still limp in his hands.

"I do not love you, Belarus, nor will I ever. That is how it should be, since I am your brother, and it would be wrong for us to be together. Besides that, I do not love you."

A small sob; Russia's grip on her shoulders tightening in order to steady her.

"Has it even occurred to you that nothing you have done compares to all that I have done? I have hurt many in the past. Do you think that I do not regret it? Many think that I do not feel regret, yet that is not true. Do you see me killing myself? To kill yourself is defeating the purpose. You have to start fresh, and to not give up; getting caught up in past failures does not do any good, no matter what Japan might say on the matter. I do not wish to see you in this state again."

She nodded, and he released her. Russia turned his attentions to Japan and Estonia, giving her the opportunity to slip away.

"You said that you regretted attacking me, Japan?"

Japan stood to address him, shoulders back and arms by his side.

"The action was regrettable; I should not have jumped so quickly into violence without proper evidence. I apologise for all inconveniences suffered on your part."

Russia nodded, walking a few steps away in order to sit down on Lithuania's doorstep.

"I did not intend to invade the Baltics. While in the past it seemed like a good idea, I no longer want to try it. I still want them to return to me, but I want them to do it out of choice, rather than by force. I hope, if we are ever reunited again, that it will be in the happiness that I used to search for, but forgot. However, I would rather that they were happy alone for now."

Japan sat down beside him, not stopping to think about the strangeness of the position.

"Do you wish for Estonia and Lithuania to get back together, then?"

Russia smiled fondly.

"Yes, that is what I want. You need not worry for them, or worry about protecting them, anymore."

Japan's facial expression didn't change, so Russia continued.

"Estonia didn't finish his story. After he had assaulted Lithuania, the two wept, and Lithuania told Estonia that he forgave him. Estonia will not let himself believe Lithuania, but we both know that he meant it. Lithuania left then, ignoring me entirely. When he was gone, I returned Estonia's gun to him. I did this so that he would know that I didn't wish to have power over me. He could have shot me, but he chose not to."

Japan continued to remain doubtful, his next question more challenging.

"If this is so, then why did you make that remark about Lithuania becoming part of the Russian Federation?"

Russia continued to smile, unperturbed by the question.

"At that stage, I was still convinced that Lithuania would agree to my request, and that I was doing the right thing in asking him. I will admit that I was wrong; Estonia's story confirmed that for me in the same manner that it broke Belarus."

Japan finally gave the desired nod, Russia's smile becoming more natural.

"Excuse me for intruding, but will you not be lonely now that you know you are alone?"

Russia's smile faded, replaced by a more thoughtful expression.

"Nyet. There is America. As much as he hates me, there is something else beneath the hatred, as you have probably realised; considering the pictures you have of us."

Japan reddened, but Russia chuckled again.

"I am sorry; I do not know what you are talking about."

"Da, you do. And you are not one to lie, Japan."

"I am sure that you and America-san would make a lovely pair…"

They paused in their discussion for a moment, before Japan said on a more serious note,

"It seems that we were wrong about what we wanted."

Russia turned to him, violet eyes boring into him.

"Da? I certainly was, but you? I suppose that you regret threatening China?"

"That is correct. I do not regret sleeping with Greece, however."

"But we have all done many terrible things in the past, you as well as me."

Japan remained unmoved.

"I am sorry for making a completely irrelevant point, but what did you mean earlier when you said that I would approve of getting caught up in past failures?"

That smile again.

"China told me this much about you: that you feel guilt for all of the terrible things you have done in the past, specifically during the World War Two period, yet you are afraid of confronting your guilt, and you do not like others blaming you for it. This is why you apologise so much."

Japan stood up, his body position defensive.

"China is reading too much into me, as he always does."

"It is true."

"Examine your own flaws for once, instead of others', Russia-san."

"I was not examining, merely commenting."

At that moment, Japan's phone rang again; the caller was America.

* * *

Poland was in no way surprised to find himself at the sharpened end of a sword; what surprised him was the person at the other end. Lithuania stood before him, positioned in a stance of power. His features were decorated with pure hatred and violence; the anger that he gave off was so familiar, yet so surreal.

"Like, Liet, what is with you today?"

Lithuania didn't look at Poland; didn't see the dilated pupils, or the defensive body stance. His voice came out as flat and monotonous as he uttered his request.

"Give me back my land, Lenkija."

The pause that followed was punctuated by the sound of footsteps; Poland began to back away from Lithuania, Lithuania matching his steps.

"What land?"

His back hit the wall with a dull thunk; Lithuania stopped.

"You know what land."

He raised the sword slightly so that it was inches away from Poland's face; the chattering of the nation's teeth matching the drip, drip of the tap in a room nearby.

"It's no longer yours. You lost it years ago, and I'm not givng it back to you."

Poland's voice came out as shrill and strangely formal. He gasped when the sword was pressed under his chin; not hard enough to cut him, but hard enough for him to recognise the cold steel.

"'Years ago' means nothing to me; it is still part of Lithuania, and I want it... for my people."

Poland made a strange gasping noise, his eyes pleading.

"Please, Liet, let me go. What about my people? It's their land too."

Lithuania remained unmoved, pressing his sword slightly harder into Poland's skin.

"Why should I care about your people?"

Poland blinked twice.

"Look, Liet, I know that you hate me, and I understand why; I deserve to be hated by you, but please, let me go. For the sake of our pasts?"

Lithuania's muscles were tense and strained; the pressure and intensity of emotion was causing liquid to run from his eyes.

"I don't... want to think about our pasts. This has nothing to do with them."

Poland gave a shy, sad smile.

"No. I didn't think that you'd care. So it's because of today then? You're really taking this seriously?"

Lithuania's jaw was set in place, but his sword hand was shaking. It took Poland a minute to register this, but as soon as he did, he swung his arm at Lithuania's, knocking the sword out of his hands and onto the ground.

"No, I'm... wait, you just..."

Poland nodded, grinning broadly.

"That was, like, totally awesome... anyway, what's bothering you? There must be something making you behave so strangely, if it's not today. You're not yourself."

Lithuania turned away, wiping the moisturre from his eyes.

"This is what I want to do."

The smile vanished from Poland's face.

"I know what it is. It's Estonia. My replacement. I heard you broke up with him recently."

Lithuania grabbed hold of Poland and pinned him to the wall; the nation stared back determinedly in response.

"Don't you dare talk to me about Estonia."

Poland removed Lithuania's hands from his shoulders as if they were nothing.

"So you're using this opportunity as a way of venting whatever bad emotion's he's caused you? That's, like, kind of sad..."

Lithuania folded his arms, the position portraying deflation instead of power.

"I don't..."

Poland shook out his hair, causing it to splay across his face.

"You obviously want to get back with him. I mean, you're totally made for each other, even if he is my replacement."

Lithuania began to talk to himself.

"But he hurt me... He didn't mean to... I forgave him... I was hurting him... He says I wasn't... Maybe we can try again?"

"Hey, Liet, why are you talking in split phrases?"

Lithuania turned to Poland again.

"Oh, I'm sorry... how about we solve this land problem some other time? I need to do something urgently..."

Poland nodded seriously.

"Ok, Liet, that sounds reasonable. You're still, like, talking like that, by the way... and like, now, so am I. Good luck making up with Estonia, though."

After thanking Poland, Lithuania exited his house, apologising on his way out for his immoral behaviour. With the knowledge that the summary meeting would occur soon, and the desparation to reach Estonia before it, he drove away quicker than he had ever driven before. Poland stood on the doorstep and waved.

* * *

America never found out what Cuba said to Canada to calm him down and change his mind, but he did know that by the time he was conscious again, Canada was by his side, apologising over annd over again for what he had done. Cuba stood in the doorway, watching over Canada with a kind of love that America immediately envied. He accepted Canada's apologies with some hesitance; America was as vengeful as he was forgiving. When the other nation had left, he remembered the phone call that he had to make; an apology of his own.

The person that he called was Lithuania. Apologising for being unconscious, he explained to Lithuania what had happened, even putting in the part about the words he had used to help him get through; Lithuania's words. The nation laughed a little at this, the happy sound filling the room through the phone and spreading the feeling to America. It was not often that Lithuania laughed; America had never heard it before, as a result of which he asked Lithuania why the nation was so happy. The explanation made him both sad and happy at the same time; he too wished for the mending of the two Baltics' relationship. On hearing that Russia and Japan had attacked each other, he became concerned, vowing to phone them as soon as he rang off.

"Japan?"

He waited for a moment for the response; he had spoken as soon as the call had connected, not giving Japan time to reproduce his normal greeting.

"Konichiwa America-san."

"This is America? I must be a part of this conversation."

"I am sorry, but since this is my phone, I shall be the one to speak."

Was that Russia's voice also at the other end? Did America dare to ask?

"Erm, I was just wondering if you were ok, Japan?"

Apparently not.

"Yes, America-san. I will be quite alright."

"Ask him how he is faring, since he was attacked."

"America-san was attacked? How did I not know about this?"

"It does not matter."

America made a mental note to himself never to manage to get on the phone with two different people again.

"Yes, I'll be alright, thanks to my awesome superpowers!"

Indirectness could come in handy sometimes, as America found out.

"You do not have superpowers, America."

"Da, he does. Amazing superpowers."

"Russia-san, are you sure that you are feeling ok?"

Interrupting also came in useful, as America had already worked out.

"I'm sure that Russia will be alright, unless it's a side effect of you fighting with him. Why did you fight, by the way?"

Perhaps getting straight to the point wasn't the wisest of ideas, however.

"I fought to defend the Baltics, and because he declared war on me first."

"That is a lie. I never properly threatened the Baltics, and you declared war on China first."

"I had no choice. He violated my territory, and what you said came out that way."

"But you said that you regretted it?"

"I do, but that was my reasoning behind it."

America pulled the phone away from his ear in alarm.

"Japan, I'm not sure about you attacking China. I don't think that that was a good idea."

It was a surprise for America when it was Russia who answered.

"But today is the day where we do what we like, da? Surely you tried something?"

America frowned, doubt filling his mind.

"I didn't get a chance, mate. I was attacked by Canada before I could think, and anyway, I wouldn't want to do the things that the two of you did."

Ouch.

"Very well, America-san, I will speak to you in person later on; I will leave you and Russia to have some time talking to each other."

"Da!"

...

"That sounds interesting."

* * *

The four young ones finally made it to Lithuania; they encountered Belarus possibly right in time, for she had again begun contemplating ending it all. Latvia climbed out of the car, followed by Sealand and the two girls. They walked over to her hunched frame, all kneeling down beside her. She raised her head above her knees when they arrived, surveying them with caution.

"Miss Belarus, are you alright?"

She was so tired; too tired to lie, and too tired to avoid answering the question. Opening her lips, she went to speak, but instead of uttering the words, chose instead to simply shake her head. Wy crawled over to her and pulled her hands away from her face.

"What's wrong?"

Their concerned eyes found hers; several tears rolled down her cheeks, but she managed to regain self control.

"I'm sorry for bothering you children with my problems, but I'm just not sure what to do with myself anymore; I mean, now that I've given up on Russia. He was my whole life."

Sealand straightened up to answer, drawing Belarus' attention in his direction. He took hold of her limp hand with his small one, gripping tightly.

"It's ok; that's what we're here for. We're not children though; we're adolescents. I don't think that there's a problem with that; Hungary's in a similar situation to you. Perhaps we could start a dating site for both of you, or simply get the two of you in contact?"

The others all smiled and nodded in agreement with Sealand's statement.

"That seems like a too simplistic solution to be the answer to my problems, but perhaps you are right; I just need to get on my feet and try again."

* * *

The blonde sat alone on the doorstep of the house, where the black and white haired nations had previously been. His breathing was steady; steady enough to maintain the appearance that everything was alright, but if you came close enough, you could see that his hands were trembling.

He would not be there for long. After he had sat there for some time, a car would pull up into the driveway at a rate of knots; the door would open, and a slim brunette nation would step out. The blonde nation's eyebrows would raise; he would find himself on his feet as the brunette approached, desperation and joy in his heart. The gap between the two would begin to close; he would call out the other's name, recieving a similar response.

"Toris!"

"Eduard!"

As they came closer, he would crumple, his face blotted with tears; his body shaking. The other nation would do the same. They would reach out for each other blindly, holding each other as close as possible, still weeping as they had earlier that day. They would be in each other's arms, and have each other once more, and everything would be ok.

* * *

With whatever methods they use to get about the globe quickly, the nations began to arrive in America in dribs and drabs for the summation meeting that was due to take place there. The four young ones who had been together for the whole of that day arrived a little later than the others, considering that they had the unpleasant task of handing back their car; it meant that when they entered the room, most of the nations were already seated.

Liechtenstein went straight back to Switzerland, needing the comfort and protection; Sealand did the same, joining Sweden and Finland. Latvia disappeared in search of the other Baltics; Wy in search of Australia.

Switzerland looked lost without Liechtenstein; when he saw her, he turned away.

"Bruder? I'm sorry."

A shake of the head.

"No, Lilli, you have nothing to be sorry about. I should have seen it coming; you're not the same person as me, after all."

Liechtenstein thought for a moment, still slightly worried.

"So is everything ok between us now?"

She received a sigh in response, but the answer filled her heart with joy.

"Yes, everything will be ok, little one."

Suddenly she turned, walking between the chairs to reach Greece's seat; Switzerland watched her do so.

"Have you paid back all that you took?

The sound caused Greece to jump out of his skin; the nations nearby laughed as he was roused from his sleep, Japan included.

"Yes sweetheart, I have paid it all back, with the help of Japan."

Liechtenstein smiled, turning to Japan.

"We thank you very much with your assistance in this matter."

At the other end of the room, Switzerland was smiling fondly at her.

* * *

"Romano?"

The tsundere nation turned to look Spain fully in the eyes for the first time that day. Spain had liquid in his own; Romano tried his hardest not to notice. Standing up, he turned to glare at his companion.

"So you've come to apologise again? It's good to know you care."

"Romano, I won't do it again. I'm sorry."

Romano shook his head, trying to keep control of his own emotions.

"I thought that we were in love. I thought that I knew who you were, but it seems that I was wrong."

Spain grabbed Romano's hands, attempting to hug him. The Italian pulled away, refusing to make contact with him.

"This has really upset you, hasn't it. You should know, Roma, that this isn't what I want. I thought that I wanted power, but all I want is… you."

Romano shook his head, pushing Spain away from him.

"You're lying."

Spain took hold of his wrists again, never breaking eye contact.

"No, I'm not. You're the most important thing in my life; I love you."

Romano stopped, frozen into position by the pure love he was being shown.

"I love you too, idiota."

The whole room seemed to be frozen as every eye was on them. Spain leant in to kiss him, but he was once again pushed away.

"What, my little tomato? Don't I get to kiss you?"

The other nation was frowning slightly, his eyes scouring the room of viewers.

"Perhaps later; when we're alone, bastard."

* * *

America stood some distance away, surveying his brother and Canada in their act of romance.

_He's in love with a commie Bastard. If he can be, why can't I? I mean, Russia isn't even a communist anymore._

His train of thought was interrupted by the arrival of the two nations who had been the most on his mind.

"Ah, America, we must continue the conversation we had on the phone."

He looked straight at the two nations standing together, immediately mentally disturbed by the image.

"Japan, Russia, is everything ok between you? I mean, on the phone…"

Japan interrupted him in the way that he was beginning to make a habit.

"America-san, everything will be fine. Now, I believe that there are a few things which we must discuss, before I leave you on your own with Russia-san."

The two nations tried to escape when America put his arms around them both, leading them away to somewhere quieter.

China sat near Hungary and Belarus, both of whom had experienced a satisfactory emotional recovery. China had managed to fend off South Korea, who was satisfied with this position, if a little disappointed at his failure. China had recommended that he try pursuing Belarus instead; Hungary agreed. Near to them, the party of Europeans was growing in size.

"I do not love either of you, and I am not prepared to choose between you. I wish that I could forget all of this."

The issuer of this comment had been England; he had been addressing both France and Germany, both of whom had been yet to give up on their advances. The three had been interrupted by Prussia, who had dragged Germany aside to talk to him. Firstly, he had ordered Germany to release Austria, on the grounds that despite the fact the nation was a piece of trash, he was still a vaguely useful ally when not annexed. The second thing that he had requested Germany do was to announce the fact that he himself was a nation once more, and the final thing was for Germany to stop pursuing England, because in reality the nation was in love with Italy; England was just an obsession. Somehow he had persuaded Germany to agree to all of these things; the arrival of Italy to the group provided him with the perfect opportunity to make amends, and Austria was soon released from his control.

* * *

When Moscow arrived, Germany and Italy were having a conversation that mirrored Spain and Romano's, England had a horrified expression glued to his face and Prussia and France were waiting impatiently.

"Italy, I mean it, I love you, no matter what I've said or done in the past."

"Would you hurry up?"

"I don't think that you need to worry about that, Prussia; it's time to start the meeting. England, are you still in agreement that we are making the right decision?"

England turned to her, still looking lost.

"Ah, yes, the agreement. It's the right thing to do, I'm sure."

"Well, stand up then; Switzerland and China are waiting for us."

"Don't forget to announce that I'm a nation again."

England and Moscow walked around to the head of the table; Switzerland shot a bullet into the air in order to get everyone's attention. Heads immediately snapped round in shock, enabling England to address all of the nations.

"We do not have much to say on this matter, except that this has been both a successful and unsuccessful day; an interesting day all round, even for those of us who did not participate. We hope that this hasn't messed up world affairs too much, and that there aren't too many problems as a result of this; we are very thankful to Japan and Moscow for starting this."

Moscow took over, her eyes white with alarm on hearing the sound of England's strangely monotonous voice.

"We would like to officially announce that Prussia is now a nation again. We feel that we should all have a drink to calm ourselves down; we will now distribute it to all of you."

She reached behind her for the barrel of liquid that England had brought, picking up the first cup to fill it before passing it to England to hand out.

"Please don't touch your cup; we will all drink together when everyone has had theirs poured out, micronations included."

England picked up the cup robotically, lifting it to his nose. He spoke almost to himself, but it was quiet enough in the room that every single nation heard his words.

"Is this what I think it is? If so, I am ready to forget. I want to forget… everything."

Having spoken, he poured the liquid down his throat; immediately everything around him became engulfed in clouds of smoke. The only sounds that could be heard were the panicked screams of the other neutral nations.

"No, that was meant for them, not for us! You weren't supposed to drink that."

When the smoke had cleared, all eyes turned to England. The nation opened his mouth, before closing it again. Finally, he said quietly,

"Who am I?"

The nations at the front gave a collective groan, realising that they'd have to explain to the other nations their reasons for attempting to wipe their memories. France homed in on the opportunity, walking to the front of the room and helping England up off of the floor.

"Mon ami, allow me to assist you. I will explain a few things to you, if you so desire."

* * *

The three nations returned to the conference room several minutes too late.

"What will Lithuania say when he finds the pools of blood in his garden?"

Russia had to laugh at this.

"He's used to that sort of thing; I don't think that he'll have a problem with it."

America looked concerned.

"If you're sure? Where is Lithuania, by the way? I haven't seen him today."

The three nations' eyes turned automatically in the direction of the Baltics' usual seats, finding only Estonia seated there. Coming closer, they realised that the nation had simply been concealed from them. He was curled up across several chairs, his head resting on Estonia's lap. The other nation was stroking his hair gently, a look of tenderness on his face.

"He's asleep. I can't say that I blame him, considering all that he's been through today. Please do not disturb him."

After spending a generous amount of time taking in the adorable sight, the three nations turned to go. America turned back, wanting to know the answer to a second question.

"Wait a second. Where's Latvia?"

Estonia smiled.

"He's with Poland. I offered for him to come here and join us, but he didn't want to interrupt."

* * *

**Thank you for reading to the end and I congratulate you on making it here. Do you agree with me on how ridiculous the England bit is? I couldn't help myself. **

**Feedback would be nice, since I generally have no faith in myself as a writer, but I'm not asking...**

**...and Red, I hope that you liked it, and that it was as good as you hoped.**


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